Norman Morrison b1790 Applecross/Gairloch - looking for parents/birth location

[whatkaileysaid]

hahaha. I think you are right that the author really didn't know what he was talking about. And no - I was just reviewing the Portlair census and there are no mentions of a ferryman. Just Normand as an ag worker, an 80-year-old relation of his wife also ag worker, and a brother-in-law fisherman. I also just cannot imagine that a ferry at Portlair and a trek over the moor would be a desired route given alternative options. Very odd!!

And Skoosh, sounds like quite an adventure! Will remember about a possible lunch in Badachro...might skip on the yacht.

[whatkaileysaid]

Hi all - been meaning to update you on my trip to the north west and especially to Portlair earlier this month. I was able to find Norman Morrison's rental records at the Gairloch museum. Unfortunately, his record disappears, in earlier 1800s, because he was likely paying a "tax man" and wasn't listed.

I haven't been able to get past with him because of that - but I did learn of an additional child that we had no record of (must have been born/died in between censuses) and the year of Norman's death (1841) which we never knew before. It means he died while living in Portlair.

We also learned that their eldest son Murdoch died as a young man the same year while poaching. The curator believes it was likely a shooting accident. Interestingly, William, my direct descendent named his first born son Murdo - assumedly after his big brother. That son is my grandmother's grandfather...so it gives his name a bit more meaning. Another interesting point was that on the rental records Norman Morrison is listed as the "primary" renter (of two), and has a subcrofter living with him Murdo Maclennan (assumedly his wife's brother?). After they were removed, I believe Murdo was the only farmer who stayed. So I do wonder if Norman hadn't died...if the family would have been allowed to stay.

I also was able to see the original estate map that had "Widow Morrison" written on the croft they were eventually moved to in South Erradale in 1845, and went and visited there. We also saw the neighbouring croft where William met his wife, and where Murdo (my grandmother's grandfather) was born.

The highlight of the trip was hiking from Diabaig into Portlair. It took two hours one-way and there were several challenging scrambles. We passed by two lochs on the top of the mountain, and then made it down into Portlair. There is a full ruined croft there that is very overgrown with ferns, but you could make out a cairn fence, a larger building with windows, and an adjoining shed. The one thing that struck me was how small the available arable land was. There was maybe a 3/4 acre field. They obviously fished and poached to feed themselves. And based on the hike in, they also obviously only travelled by boat. Going by foot would have been very difficult (as evidenced by a very nice bruise I got on the ascent.) Does anyone know if in the mid-1800s if average people would have been buried in a kirk yard or on their land? Curious if Norman/Murdoch could have been buried there. I may or may not have taken a few stones from the ruined croft...just in case it was in fact somehow related to ours.

It was pretty incredible to be able to walk in their footprints, and for a non-superstitious person I can't deny I had a visceral response that it "felt like home" while staying on loch Torridon, and in a completely different way than I've ever felt in Scotland. I've attached a photo - I'm looking down into the Portlair cove. You can see the newer white family cottage on the left.

[Forfarian]

Does anyone know if in the mid-1800s if average people would have been buried in a kirk yard or on their land? Curious if Norman/Murdoch could have been buried there.

The vast majority - almost everyone - would have been buried in the parish kirkyard, or in a religious cemetery or graveyard of some sort.

[Skoosh]

Great stuff Kailey, we're looking for new blood if you're tempted? 


Skoosh.

[whatkaileysaid]

Hi all,

A year and a half later and I thought I'd update you on this saga - if you're still here. Since my last update, I spoke a bit more with Murdoch (author of Old Torridon) and he told me that he had transcribed Donald Morison's letters many years before and that they were likely in one of two places. Skoosh, it was you and Murdoch who both mentioned him early on to me. I managed to track the letters down and had a curator send them to me. On one of the letters (attached) Donald Morison mentions that he has "quit Torridon and marriage" and that "the mother" would not part with the boy. This was in 1787. We know Norman was born roughly 1790 but have never been able to confirm the actual year. I nearly fell off my chair when I first read this - I was just expecting notes about fishing.

So for quite a while I and a cousin also into our genealogy felt like this was a possible theory, but one that would probably always just remain a theory. This is where it gets a bit interesting...

My cousin ended up getting DNA samples from three different family members. We joined a Mackenzie DNA matching Facebook group to chase down a couple Mackenzie possibilities from the area. While there, we realized we matched DNA 5 generations back (starting at my grandmother's generation) with two different people, indicating a common ancestor amongst all of us. So we'd be potentially looking for one of Normand or Isabella's grandparents. 

Initially exploring possible Mackenzie links with no luck, one of the two matches asked about the spelling of Normand's name - hey, sounds like Lewis. So, I shared the Donald Morison theory. They then shared that they are both descended from the Morisons Brieves from Lewis, including one who is a direct descendent of Roderik Morison (son of Rev Murdo of Barvas) who started the Tanera fisheries.

With the generational DNA match, assuming it is indeed the Morison line that connects us (and not a Mackenzie one - which we have not yet been able to identify), it means our common ancestor with these two people was potentially Normand's grandfather. Which would mean Roderik and Donald were potentially cousins. We haven't been able to prove they were related yet on paper...but they both happened to be in the business of starting fisheries down the coast from each other. And if you're still with me, it means that we now potentially have a DNA link that would support Donald as Normand's dad, and thus that Normand actually might have been the "boy" in the letter. And that's how he'd end up being born in Torridon with no other Morisons around.

The one sticking point I've never been fully convinced of is how Normand ended up as a regular crofter if he came from a somewhat prominent merchant family. My cousin did some research on Donald and found that he had several short marriages and quite a few kids and that he was more or less broke from his time in Torridon (lots of debts) right up until he died. We still have a lot more to explore on him and Roderick but this is lightyears away from where I was when I first messaged you here. It's still just a theory but at least it's one with a bit of teeth now.

Since we last spoke I spent a week on Isle of Eigg this past November and also was back in Edinburgh to see family. I was supposed to be back in the Torridon area in June this year but given the circumstances, that's being held off. I will be back soon enough, I hope! And yes Skoosh, very tempted. One day.

I hope you are all keeping well!

[Skoosh]

Well Kailey, this summer could be a write-off with the quarantine!   I've been reading a book called "Pigeon Holes of Memory" the life & times of Dr John Mackenzie, edited by Christina Byam Shaw, this would be right up your street. Dr John, 1803-1886, was a brother to Gairloch & factored the estates for a time. He explains the fishing in detail, his father bought every cod caught by the tenants & these were salted & dried. The season's catch was then shipped to Spain, & had to arrive before Lent or the price collapsed and it made a loss. Himself was an army surgeon & the only doctor in Wester Ross so treated all-comers at Dun Dige' the summer residence, even embalming the body of his young sister-in-law who died in childbirth. The story & its 500 bearers required to carry the body to Beauly, is in the book. The publisher is Constable, price £20 but cheaper online. He tried to teach the crofters modern agricultural methods, an uphill struggle, the guys were more interested in the fishing! Gairloch, to its credit, resisted the solution of Clearance applied elsewhere.

Take Care,
Slainte'
Skoosh.